How are your local newspapers subscription #s?

@Flashman:

Return to Oz was seriously disturbing.

Oh my God… I forgot about that one. Yeah, I have some vague memories of seeing that at my aunt’s house late one night… made absolutely no sense to me. I just recall monkeys on unicycles.

@General:

And another side note civilians lose wars not the American military.

Agreed, terrible policy has been the bane of the US fighting man for over half a century. (or longer even)

We give the people all the battle wins, and spineless leadership and ineptitude takes those victories and squanders them.

From one trooper to another “Brave Rifles!” and thank you for your service!

There’s been a Lucas McCain sighting!

I see no problem signing your free will away to some computer who will put you in the perfect job for society, will genetically engineer your children to propegate the species and will determine the most efficient utilization of your resources.

The pilot miniseries, and then a “duplicate” in the 3rd season.  So… just 2.

I think most of the backing came due to two facts:
(1) the USSR needed reforms, that was obvious.
Still, they probably wanted a long term leader that could be influenced => a younger one, after the two short reigns of Andropov and what-was-his-name… Probably, the influentials wanted some change, but surely not that much that it would threaten their power-base, one of the reasons for the coup that failed due to Jelzins help for Gorbachev.
(2) The general secretary and all the other positions he fills made him the most powerful man in the USSR. Probably, whoever put Gorbachev into place, underestimated him. Pretty much the same underestimation that Hitler faced when he was appointed Chancellor, but luckily Gorbachev used that to reform positively, and i consider the new freedom of information, the right to ask wether the party is right and that the crucial reform.

So, I don’t think that there was “real” backing, i believe Gorbachev was kind of a compromise candidate, kind of a makeshift. Of course, once he was into power, you ccouldn’t remove instantly, that would have meant that the party made a mistake (which was not “allowed” before Gorbachev). And he was clever enough to stay into power, and use his popularity at the beginning (which soon, after the economy started to collapse openly, was reduced to more or less nothing) to enforece the reforms.

Thanks. And you weren’t bored?

regarding Risk 2110, I have played it and it is a lot of fun. Not nearly so involved as the AA games, but it is fast paced and wildly unpredictable. The main problem of the original Risk - players amassing enormous armies til it was foolhardy for anyone to attack anyone else - has been eliminated with the introduction of the command cards and “energy chips” (money). We got a four player game together, and there was just no way to tell who was “winning” because those damn cards can swing the balance of power in an instant. There’s also only 5 rounds to a game, so a player has to think ahead and yet not bide his time TOO long. Only played twice, but I’d say it’s worth the purchase price.